State legislators, after a series of emotional hearings on the Newtown shootings, will pivot this week to a new challenge: closing projected budget deficits of nearly $2 billion over the next two years.

On Wednesday, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will unveil his budget, resetting the table at the state Capitol and establishing the broad framework for the rest of the legislative session that is scheduled to end June 5. Although no governor gets everything requested, the proposal traditionally establishes the broad parameters of what is possible for the session.

While spending will increase beyond the current $20.5 billion state budget, the fiscal plan will be balanced, Malloy said.

"There's no new taxes in this budget,'' Malloy told reporters Friday. "I've said that. I told you that months ago, and none of you believed me. There's enough pain to go around in this budget, and you'll hear [on Wednesday]. Those are broad strokes.''

One of the most expensive items that the legislature will review is a bold plan to spend $2 billion over 10 years for a huge expansion of the University of Connecticut that is projected to increase enrollment by 30 percent. The proposal calls for expanding the Stamford campus and allocates $10 million to place dormitories there for the first time. It also provides $70 million to relocate the West Hartford campus to Hartford.

Using mostly state money, plus a contribution from UConn, the plan will cost $2 billion for 1,400 full scholarships and more faculty, dormitories, doctoral fellowships, research laboratories, and nearly 5,500 new parking spaces. While the legislature's top two Democratic leaders joined Malloy at the unveiling last week, House Republican leader Larry Cafero said the UConn plan was too expensive and unaffordable at a time when the state faces a huge deficit and is struggling to recover from the still-sluggish economy.

The UConn plan will be part of the annual bond package, which is separate from the operating budget. But the legislature must vote on both packages, and the interest on the bonds from past projects has a direct impact on the operating budget.

Potential Budget Cuts

Sen. Toni Harp, a New Haven Democrat who co-chairs the legislature's powerful appropriations committee, said she doesn't know what Malloy plans to propose Wednesday but expects "a lot of cuts."

"My understanding is that we have a revenue problem and a spending cap problem," Harp said. "I can't imagine what it's going to be like if we can't find a way to raise revenue."

Anti-poverty advocates are bracing for grim news.

"I'm certainly worried about really deep cuts,'' said Wade Gibson, senior policy fellow at New Haven-based Connecticut Voices for Children, a liberal-leaning think tank. "There's a very good chance that a lot of programs that are very important to kids are going to get cut."

Human-service providers have praised Malloy for taking some steps to help those who are struggling to make a living. In 2011, he signed legislation that gives a tax credit to low-income workers. A recent study by Voices for Children found that 180,000 households, with an average income of $18,000, benefited from the credit.

Malloy also cheered community-service providers last week when he announced the establishment of a new bonding program for non-profit agencies.

But some providers expressed concern that Malloy's oft-stated intention not to raise taxes, even on the wealthiest citizens, leaves him no option but to cut his way out of the budget crisis.

"The governor is trying to be as judicious as he can,'' said Liz Dupont-Diehl, policy director for the Connecticut Association for Human Services. "But we're on a very dangerous road right now. Connecticut is one of the most unequal states in the country, and that's not just because our wealthy are very wealthy but also because our poor are very poor."

Dupont-Diehl added: "There's certainly room for revenues to be raised by [increasing taxes on] those who can afford it and by closing corporate tax loopholes."

Post-Newtown Spending

While they are wrangling over the budget, lawmakers and Malloy will also be pondering a series of policy changes in response to the mass shooting in Newtown. Some of those proposals relating to school security and mental health services carry potentially steep price tags.

"We've got to do something,'' said Harp, who leads a legislative subcommittee examining the state's mental health system. "We've got to find some money in the budget to speak to this issue."

More school-based health clinics, particularly in suburban high schools, to address the mental health needs of adolescents and young adults, is one step Harp supports. But the realities of the state's finances means that "the likelihood of being able to do anything significant in that area isn't great, I hate to say," she said. "We may not be able to do them across the state, but we could certainly pilot them."